Burmese Mountain Dogs

Cher and Molly Oil Portrait Sold

Yes I have been tardy in my blogging. Life has been brisk and I make no excuses for that as it is all good. Besides, no one wants to listen to me crank on about life's injustices anyways!

Today's painting is one that was commissioned by a husband for his wife of their family dogs. A few curious things happened during the creation on this painting and I have to share as some are funny while others are sad.

The husbands plan was to surprise the wife and he had given me several photos of this pair (which are a mother/ daughter duo) and asked me to sketch suitable ideas for his spouse to choose from.

While sketching I noticed that the dogs were remarkably similar but the photos were never very clear and so I began guessing on some of the markings. When the wife finally received her "gift " she promptly called me and informed me that her hubby had mislabeled all the photos and we had a good laugh at his expense. Since they lived near by I went to their home and photographed their dogs so I could have my own reference photos to work from. I made sure I knew one dog from the other...no more artistic interpretation!

While there I got to interact with the dogs. Patting these lovable dogs was a requirement and as I was rubbing the thick luscious coat of the older dog I remarked on the rather sizable lump on her ribcage. As a trained animal technician I was concerned but left the matter in the owners hands. My camera had many good shots of the dogs and I now knew who was who in this canine family.

It took a bit longer than expected to finish this piece as my life has had several major life changes in the past months. I also struggled with the original concept of the piece and in the end went with my gut and opted for the above head shot which shows the ladies off, up close and personal which is how I found their personalities to be when I photographed them.

When I presented the painting to the wife she was pleased and told me of how the older female (the mother with the lump) had been found to have cancer and had been put down only a few weeks earlier. The Daughter (above) had just given birth to a litter of pups.

As I held the adorable little puppies in my arms I was amazed at how the cycle of life continues on regardless of what happens. Life, death and rebirth is gloriously ignorant of personal life events and it felt rather poignant to know that I was able to see and capture in paint an ancestor of this new life that felt so small in my hands.

Cherish what you have, life is constantly evolving.